Some people view an MBA degree the same way that Charlie thought about his Golden Ticket in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory": They believe a piece of paper can magically transport you to a place you only imagined.

Desmond Brooks had hoped to major in hospitality and considered attending an out-of-state college. Instead, he's living at home, enrolled at Georgia State University and working full-time for campus security.

It was like Mary Pipher was on a runaway train of success. She had multiple best-selling books and was much in demand as a therapist and an inspirational speaker. And at one point in 2002, she felt like she had given all she could give, and she suffered a meltdown.

Just as the riskiest financial investment strategy is to have all of your money in one place, the riskiest career management strategy is to have all of your income from one organization unless you are in a critical role and have skills that are difficult to find in the labor market.

Few things can rattle your world more than the loss of a job. But faced with the resultant soul-searching, some recent pink-slip recipients are refusing to be casualties of the latest recession. Instead of quietly joining the ranks of the unemployed, they're resolving to seize control over their career and become their own boss. They're pursuing an entrepreneurial dream.

Between May and June, on college campuses throughout the country, you can sense a level of excitement that is usually reserved for $1 beer night or when parents finally drive away after a weekend visit.

New technological tools are often hailed as breakthroughs that will revolutionize our daily lives. Think of the iPhone's arrival a few years ago. Many of these much-heralded items fizzle away with little notice. And then others sneak up on us.

Sadly, the down economy has put a lot of workers over age 50 in the unenviable position of needing to find a new profession. Don't believe that old cliché about middle-aged dogs and new tricks, though; lots of wildly successful people found big success in careers they began after their fiftieth birthdays.

College senior Kaitlin Ripple had always known the business world was competitive. Yet when she started Baldwin-Wallace College, located in a suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio, she had no way of knowing how cutthroat it would be when she entered the "real world."

When you look at Forbes magazine's most recent list of highest-paid CEO's (chief executives of the 500 biggest companies in the United States), you won't see a woman until No. 48: Irene B Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods.

During driver's education courses, you learn what each road sign signifies. The two arrows converging means you need to merge. A squiggly arrow means the road winds. "Left Lane Ends" means, well, the left lane ends.

Imagine someone walking up to you at the top of every hour and handing you a $20 bill. You'd be earning approximately the same amount of money that the average American does. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national mean for hourly wages is $20.44.

All the stars are aligning. You've been offered a great opportunity, maybe even your dream job: the company you've admired, top-notch staff, terrific benefits, ideal location. You've aced the interview, and you know you'd be a perfect fit. What more could you ask for?

Do all the employees at your dream company have an MBA? What is a typical day like in a big-city newsroom? What types of questions might someone be asked when interviewing for a position in the health-care industry?

Going back to school is an appealing option for many people, but they can't afford to quit their jobs to be a full-time student. If this sounds familiar, there might be a solution that allows you to go to school and continue working: an online or distance-learning program.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the United States has lost 8.4 million jobs. Yet, employers are finally feeling a renewed sense of hiring optimism, according to a new survey from CareerBuilder and USA TODAY.

It's no secret that finding a job in this economy is difficult at best. Since the recession hit in 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor reports there are now more than 15 million unemployed Americans facing the loss of their homes, savings and sanity.

You have a job, and it's a good one at that. But something is missing. You aren't really challenged anymore. You've been doing the same thing too long. Your company isn't likely to be promoting anyone soon because it has just gone through a major downsizing, merger or takeover.

"When the cat's away, the mice will play," is a term most people can relate to. When the manager is gone -- be it on vacation or just away from her desk -- some employees act like a teenager whose parents are out of town.

Social media are, by definition, supposed to be a social experience. Make a profile and start connecting. Reach out to friends, old and new. Post a profile picture, and while you're at it upload a photo album of your trip to Greece so others can see and comment.